2007 News Story04/06/2007Suspect in murder of French citizens killed in gunbattle with Saudi authorities

A suspect in the February 26 murder of four French citizens was killed by Saudi security forces in a gunbattle near Madinah today, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

An intensive surveillance operation led Saudi authorities to the suspect’s hideout in a residential area north of Madinah. As security forces began evacuating residents of the building, they came under heavy fire from machine guns and hand grenades. The security forces returned fire, killing the suspect. One member of the security forces were also killed and two injured in the gunbattle.

The Ministry identified the suspect as Waleed Mutlaq Al-Raddadi, who had been wanted by Saudi authorities.

The four French nationals were attacked when they stopped in a desert area en route to Madinah. Two died at the scene and two later died of their wounds. Saudi authorities immediately launched an investigation into the attack, arresting several suspects and issuing wanted notices for two others.